Sign character



G. W. FROST SIGN CHARACTER Nov. 7, 1939.

Filed Jan. 14, 19:59

Patented Nov. 7, 1939 PATENT OFFICE.

SIGN CHARACTER George W. Frost, Springfield, ILL, assignor to Gothard Manufacturing Company, Springfield, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 14, 1939, Serial No. 250,954

4 Claims.

substantially straight strips easily obtainable in such form.

Another object of my invention is to provide individually mountable sign characters in which the mirrored surface of the reflectingmaterial used therewith is not susceptible to rapid deterioration when the sign characters are mounted in the open.

Another object of my invention is to provide individually mountable sign characters which are easily repaired if it becomes necessary to do so.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a simple and economic method of constructing and assembling individually mountable reflecting sign characters.

Other objects of my invention will, in part, be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

It is to be understood that the expression sign characters used hereinafter in the description and appended claims is intended to cover any letter, numeral, figure, pattern, or symbol that may be used to make up reflecting signs. Characters used on trafiic signs such as arrows, curves, S-curves, and crosses are all within the scope of this expression.

Accordingly, my invention is disclosed in the embodiment hereof shown in the accompanying drawing, and it comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of my invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of the front of a refleeting sign letter O constructed according to my invention, and representative of any desired sign character;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the back of the letter 0 shown in Figure 1;

ters in which the reflecting material comprises Figure 4 is an end view of the letter 0 shown in Figure 3 before the lugs have been turned. over to complete the assembly of the letter; and

Figure is a sectional view taken on line 5--5 of Figure 4 showing in detail the assemblage of the mounting screws.

Referring now particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, the reference character Ill designates generally a reflecting sign letter 0 constructed according to my invention. The sign character Hi comprises a channel-shaped member II in the channel of which reflecting material I2 is deposited with rim flange sections I3 and I I fitting over the channel-shaped member II to retain the reflecting material I2. The rim flange sections I3 and I4 comprise flanges I5 and rims l6. By having the flanges I5 extend over the outer edges of the reflecting material I2, the reflecting material l2 will be securely held in place.

The reflecting material l2 may be in the form of substantially straight strips A and B. The strips A and B substantially fill the channel recess of the channel-shaped member II. If desired, suitable plastic material may be forced around the edges of the strips A and B between the sides thereof and the inner edges of the channel-shaped member II and also between adjoining pieces or strips A and B. Such plastic material will prevent any movement of the strips A and B and prevent any great quantity of moisture gathering behind the reflecting material I2 which might on freezing break it up. However, when the channel-shaped member II and the strips A and B are made with reasonable accuracy, very little or none at all of the plastic material will be needed.

Although various types of reflecting material I2 may be used, I have found that one known as Diflusex Glass gives excellent results. Such Diffusex Glass has been used in the reflecting sign character It! as indicated at I2 and it comprises a layer of glass H, the outer surface It of which is roughened to impart a diffusing effect thereto and the rear or back of which is provided with a reflecting fllm or coating I9. The film I9 may be formed by spraying molten aluminum onto the back of the layer of glass ll which is heated to a temperature just below its fusion point. Diffusex Glass made with such a mirrored surface of aluminum I9 is not susceptible of rapid deterioration when used in the open or outdoors.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing, it will be noted that the rims I6 of the rim flange sections l3 and M are provided with tabs 25. When the rim flange sections I3 and M arein place over the channel-shaped section II, as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, these tabs 25 may be spun or otherwise turned over onto the back of the channel-shaped member II to hold the rim flange sections [3 and M and the channel-shaped member ll together. If it becomes necessary to subsequently take the respecting sign character It) apart, the tabs 25 may be turned up or back to allow the sign character It) to be repaired. In Figure 4 of the drawing, the tabs 25 are shown in upright position before being spun or turned over.

In order that the reflecting sign character It] may be readily mounted, mounting screws 30 may be provided as shown in Figures 3 and 5 of the drawing. The back of the channel-shaped member ll may be offset in a number of places as indicated at 3| and apertures 32 provided therein through which the mounting screws 36 may be inserted. The heads 33 of the screws (iii are preferably countersunk and edges of the apertures 32 are spun over as indicated at 34 to retain the screws 3% in place. 7

With a view to increasing the conspicuousnc-ss of the reflecting sign character H3 in the daytime, the faces of the flanges l5 of the rim flange sections 53 and M may be colored. For example, black enamel may be baked on the flanges [5 before the rim flange sections l3 and it are assembled with the channel-shaped member I l. By having the rim flange sections [3 and M separably mountable, it is possible to bake the enamel on the flanges l5 before the complete assemblage of the reflecting sign character I ii. If the flanges i5 had to be in place over the reflecting material I2 and enamel subsequently baked thereon, such baking would spoil the reflecting character of the reflecting material It.

From an assemblage standpoint there is great advantage in having a channel-shaped member I l of the general outline of the desired sign character for holding strips or pieces of the reflecting material H2 in place during the assembly of the sign character l0.

For example, it would be diflicult from an assemblage standpoint to hold the piece of reflecting material l2 in proper position on a flat backing plate and then place retaining means thereover. Only a relatively small number of different lengths and shaped pieces or strips of reflecting material l2 are needed from which almost any sign character can be made up. Thus it is not necessary to have especially provided pieces of the reflecting material M for each different sign character desired as would be the case if the sign character could not be built up from separate pieces. For instance, in making up a numeral 6 or 9 three strips such as A in Figure 1 and one strip such as B, could be used, it being necessary to provide only two additional strips of different lengths to complete such numerals. There is great advantage in using straight strips of reflecting material I2. Such strips may be easily cut from a relatively large plate of reflecting material l2. Whereas, it is very diflicult to cut out from such a large plate the complete outline of the desired character and, in addition, cutting out a complete outline gives a large amount of waste reflecting material.

The channel-shaped back member l! and the rim flange sections l3 and Hi may be cast aluminum or other metal. Such castings are cheaply made in quantity and require very little finishing. Molded plastic material such as Bakelite may also be used if desired.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. An individually mountable reflecting character comprising, in combination, a metal channel-shaped member, light reflecting material disposed in the channel thereof, integral metal rim flange retaining means fitting around and over the edges of said channel-shaped member to retain said light reflecting material in place, tabs integrally formed on the rear of said rim flange retaining means being overturned onto the back of said channel-shaped member to thereby hold said rim flange retaining means and said channel-shaped member together and mounting screws held on the back of said channel-shaped member for mounting said mountable reflecting character, said channel-shaped member, light reflecting material, and rim flange means all conforming to the general outline of said sign character.

2. A reflecting sign character comprising, in combination, a channel-shaped member, light reflecting material disposed in the channel of said channel-shaped member, and rim flange retaining means cooperating with said channel-shaped member to retain said reflecting material therein, said channel-shaped member, light reflecting material, and rim flange retaining means all conforming to the general outline of said sign character, and the outer surface of the flange of said rim flange retaining means being colored to increase the legibility of said sign character in daylight, said light reflecting material comprising glass one surface of which is light diffusing and the opposite surface of which is mirrored with aluminum.

3. A reflecting sign character comprising, in combination, channel-shaped means, light reflecting material disposedin the channel of said channel-shaped means, and rim flange retaining means cooperating with said channel-shaped means to retain said reflecting material therein, said channel-shaped means, light reflecting material, and rim flange retaining means all conforming to the general outline of said sign character, said light reflecting material comprising substantially straight pieces of light reflecting material, and the flange part of said rim flange retaining means covering only the outer edges of said light reflecting material and, having an area sufliciently large to make the reflecting device visible in daytime.

4. A reflecting sign character comprising, in combination, a channel-shaped member, light reflecting material disposed in the channel of said channel-shaped member,-and rim flange retaining means cooperating with said channel-shaped member to retain said light reflecting mamrial therein, said channel-shaped member, light reflecting material, and rim flange retaining means all conforming to the general outline of said reflecting sign character, and the outer surface of the flange of. said rim flange retaining means being colored to increase the visibility of said sign character in daylight, said light reflecting material comprising glass, one surface of which is light difiusing and the opposite surface of which is mirrored.

GEORGE W. FROST. 

